The only thing that is different is that Michigan cannot win a conference championship with a 10-2 regular season record. Otherwise, we are the 90s minus the only National Title Michigan has won since the 1948. Michigan has had a chance at the B1G Title, and a shot at the Playoffs twice in the past four years in the last week of the season. We are 0-2 in those situations, but whatever. That's not the end of the world. We are in the most productive 4 year period since 2000. Relax.

I don't get this mindset. There could be no hipsters downtown and no investment in the city. Would Detroit be better off if the downtown area was not thriving? The neighborhoods and school system aren't going to get better without tax revenue, and at the very least those hipsters who moved downtown from the burbs are providing that.

Neither? It's not BACK, and might not ever be. There is plenty of room for improvement, and there is a long way to go until it's the best city it can be. That being said, the improvements have been vast, and it is definitely providing reason for optimism.

One great thing I think Detroit is doing is restoration work on it's beautiful old buildings. This article is a year and half old now, but it still rings true. There is a more current project list over at Curbed. Not to mention the 10 year plan for the Packard Plant. Add that to new projects like the building Gilbert is putting up on the Hudson site and the ongoing work around the District Detroit, I think Detroit can be a hub for both new and historical architecture.

At the end of the day, at least people are trying. Who are you to knock an unfinished product?

No, but it's closer than the other commenters are giving credit to it. The unpredictability of the tournament takes a partial shine off the basketball national title. The football championship shows you were the best team, the entire year, relentlessly. Not just the best team at the end of the year, or the best team remaining because the actual best team stubbed their toe.

That being said, I cried big time we won our B1G tournament championships the past two seasons. Who knows how it would have felt winning that game last year.

8 is way too many, and it makes the regular season not as meaningful. Michigan blew their shot at the playoffs in Columbus. Georgia blew their shot at the playoffs in the SEC Championship game. The only thing that makes sense is a hybrid playoff system. The number of slots are based solely on what the end of the season dictates, but the only requirements for a playoff are:

1 loss Conference Champs are guaranteed a spot.

Undefeated Teams reviewed and added only when they make the numbers 6 or 8 (G5 + Independents)

2014: Instead of Baylor, TCU or Ohio St, all 3 get their shot. 6 team playoff tree required, and 2 extra bowls are made part of the CoFoPoff system that year. 1st/2nd ranked get bye weeks, 3 plays 6, 4 plays 5, then lowest ranked plays 1, etc.

2015: Stays at 4. MSU, Iowa and Ohio St all it with 1 loss, but do 3 B1G teams really deserve a spotwhen two of those teams lost to the third? I think the committee would want to make the regular season and conference championship games matter and stick with 4.

2016: Stick with 4 again. 13-0 Western Michigan doesn't deserve a slot based on resume, but would have been eligible if a 5th team was present.

2017: Not all Group of 5 conferences are created equally. Undefeated UCF actually does deserve a slot this year. But the B1G dropped the ball. 2-loss conference champion is left out, and the 12-1 Badgers lost their play-in game. Again, we stick with four.

2018: UCF get's their revenge! No 1-loss P5 conference champ deserves to be left out based on perception, so 5th seed goes to Ohio St. UCF gets their chance with another undefeated season, evening the numbers at 6. If UCF lost last week? We still roll 5, with Oklahoma/Ohio St. fighting over the fourth slot on the field, not in the media. No Georgia doesn't belong over UCF because they played Bama close. They lost their play-in game! Michigan couldn't even make it to their play-in game...

I don't think this is complicated logistically since there are 3+ weeks to work it all out. Overflow college football playoff games go to the third tier bowls. Bowl games like the Alamo, Outback, Citrus and Gator bowls can be moved to the Saturday/Sunday before Christmas in the event that more than 4 teams make the playoff. That ensures things like the Rose Bowl is never shifted away from Jan 1 when it isn't part of the playoff structure.

My dad consistently states that basketball games are pointless to watch till the last minute. And normally he is right, to some extent. Most games have teams go on runs, and then the other team answers with runs of their own until 1 or 2 mins are left and the teams are close enough that fouling starts. Or hopefully close enough it never has to!

Michigan is absolutely not that. You could jump into the game after the first TV timeout, and it's already feels over. The action bits happen early and then the game is just a jog to the finish (for fans at least). Even the UNC game, which was close for 22 mins, had that run when it turned into a 20 point game in the blink of the eye. You just have to watch from start to finish, because any moment could be the moment the game ends.

Michigan is in the midst of it's best stretch of football since 1997-2000, but it's NOT GOOD ENOUGH because Alabama, OSU, Oklahoma, and Clemson exist.

But when is the last time Michigan was a legit, consistent National Title contender who backed their play up on the field? The Early 70s? Shit, we could still become Alabama/OSU/Oklahoma/Clemson but it is going to take time. Until then, three 10 win seasons in 4 years is a fun way to wait.

That sucked last weekend. But it's not the end of the year, Harbaugh's tenure, or Michigan's football program. It's a downer, but this season is just another building block in the foundation of a better program. Still stuck at 10-2 +/-2, which is a massive improvement from where we were and a reversion to Michigan's norm under Bo, Mo, and Lloyd. We just can't split B1G titles anymore, and OSU is in that group mentioned above.

Playing a Rutgers level opponent 4 years in a row is harder to do than playing 4 different Rutgers level opponents over 4 years. Conference foes know your tendencies, know the way the conference plays, etc.

If anything this rating method hurts SEC/ACC teams since they will most likely have an extra game against a G5 team. More likely than not, that win over a G5 team will count less than a win over a P5 team.

If Michigan beats Indiana this week, we will gain 1 point.
If Alabama beats the Citadel, they will receive 0 points.
If Georgia beat UMass, they will receive 0 points (independent school, but should be viewed as losing G5).

OL is a long game recruiting wise, and we just got an new OL coach this season. Benhart was always going to Nebraska/Wisconsin based on proximity to home. It was a key in his recruiting that his parents could drive to his games. Keegan is still up in the air, but Michigan is a step behind Georgia and Clemson still. Need to put 2-3 years like this one together and make a Playoff run before we can compete with those schools.

It's almost like this ranking method is too good to be true, which makes me doubt it. Otherwise it makes more sense than what AP polls, BCS computers, or committees come up with based heavily on eyeball test/pre-season projection and bias. Results on the field matter above all else, imo.

I'd take it a step further and list the rankings like a PGA event. If 3 teams are tied at 7, list all three at 7, then the next team 10th. It will sort it out by the end.

In the event that an extreme scenario occurs, where and 5-6 teams prove playoff worthy (2 or 3 teams are T4), then have an expanded playoff plan in place. 5 teams, and there is a play-in game. 6 teams, the three tied teams are drawn at random, top two teams get a bye.

Bah humbug. Notre Dame is and always will be a main rival. Even if we don't play each other year in and year out, they are as much of a recruiting rival as OSU. ND is basically the only other school who matches us on the football field, in the classroom, and also has the brand recognition to go into California, Texas, the East Coast or down South and beat Michigan out for a kid.

Can we add PSU? Potentially, but I'm in the not yet camp. They've had great teams, and we have had great games, but until they were in our division they were always an Iowa, or Wisconsin to me. And the stakes haven't been high enough for long enough.

Another way to look at it, is they would always be third fiddle in the pecking order within the division. How many in division rivals can you have?

Ohio State is our Main Rival, who is a divisional rival as well.

Michigan State is our In-State Rival, who is a divisional rival as well.

Notre Dame is a National Rival with great history, and probably Michigan's closest thing to the Spiderman meme.

Minnesota is our Trophy Game Rival

PSU is just a divisional rival, and will always be just a divisional rival.

I think in any given year the PSU can mean the most in the standings, but in any given 10 year stretch they will sit comfortably in 4th or 5th.

My (now) girlfriend and I totally hit it off at Revel & Roll during the 2015 Northwestern game. Thought it was a cool place to catch the game in the bar area. Good food and an activity to do if/when the game gets out of hand.

Brian must be out of the BPONE. Or maybe it is MGoBlog bias. They have been pointing and laughing at PSU/Franklin all year long.

Idk, what do you see when PSU loses on the last drive to OSU? A team with laughable coaching? Or a team that can take OSU to the wire? If you are that confident you can beat PSU, then you have to view OSU the same way, right? Am just not ready to admit THAT. Michigan has played well, but Wisconsin, MSU, Northwestern are all 3 loss teams with BAD losses on their schedule. PSU lacks those bad losses. This should be the toughest match-up since ND. Hopefully I am wrong.

I was coming here to yell at you, but the more I look at it...I think you're right. And always have been right. Even the old looks. The yellow clashes with the white jersey too much. White pants is just so much cleaner looking...

The yellow just seems like they belong to a different jersey. They look a little better back in the day.

I'm with you, though they shouldn't. Seeing how Harbaugh's tenure is the only one that matters now, let's look at the last 3 games.

2015: Michigan Won 48-41 in OT against Peak Chaos Team. First signs that Durkin wasn't a good enough DC, and a harbinger of things to come in the OSU game that year. Howard was at least an NFL talent running back...

2016: Michigan Won 20-10. John O'Korn's first slogfest. Was a JOK game, so can't blame Harbaugh for it being close. Thank god the snow came and erased any chance of a comeback.

2017: Michigan Won 27-20 in OT. Another Harbinger game. Though this time it showed us how much our bad offense crippled our defense. Michigan blew a 10 point 4th quarter lead to get to OT and was lucky to get out with a win. In Michigan's 4th quarter of it's season, we went on to lose to Wisconsin, Ohio St. and South Carolina. Michigan held fourth quarter leads in all of these games.

2018 and why it is different: Don Brown's defense is fully operational. Best third down team in the country. Best 2nd half defense in the country. No more blown quarter leads (hat tip to our S&C Coach). We have an OL that puts games away (thanks Warriner). We have Shea, then McCaffrey, then Peters/Milton. We play at home and Indiana is far far FAR away from Chaos team.

I completely understand where he is coming from, but the B1G has no legs to stand on... The teams in question, just outside the rankings:

Wisconsin (3-loss team) with a loss to BYU
Northwestern (3-loss team) with a loss to Akron
Maryland (3-loss team) with a loss to Temple.
Michigan State (3-loss team) with a loss to Arizona State.

The best win of that bunch is Maryland over Texas, but they are about to go to 4-4. Maybe MSU sneaks back into the rankings with a win over Maryland. Right now there is only one 3-loss team in the playoff rankings. And Texas A&M three losses are to #1 Alabama, #2 Clemson, and #21 Mississippi State with a win over #11 Kentucky to boot.